I really wanted to like it, I really did. I saw the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi. It didn't follow the book very closely and while Lugosi has some scary eyes, he doesn't match the book's physical description what-so-ever. They also seem to have forgotten about the vamporization of Lucy. They only briefly mentioned her and forgot her. Also, you'd think Dracula: King of the Undead would have a better plan for if his enemies found his tomb. He went straight to sleep and basically let them kill him. It was very anti-climactic. I expected much more from a horror classic. It's not that I'm young, I love old black and white films. I watch all sorts of movies. The only genre I write off is business, political, and economic films such as Wall Street or Boiler Room.

But on the bright side, Renfield was hilarious. I know he's supposed to be a frightening degenerate but I found him funny. Especially when the maid saw him and passed out.

I really wanted to like it, I really did. I saw the original Dracula with Bela Lugosi. It didn't follow the book very closely and while Lugosi has some scary eyes, he doesn't match the book's physical description what-so-ever. They also seem to have forgotten about the vamporization of Lucy. They only briefly mentioned her and forgot her. Also, you'd think Dracula: King of the Undead would have a better plan for if his enemies found his tomb. He went straight to sleep and basically let them kill him. It was very anti-climactic. I expected much more from a horror classic.

Well, looking at it from another angle, perhaps Dracula wanted to die.

Being undead (and eternal) he had to watch everyone\thing he ever loved die off naturally as he continued to live on.

Also, knowing that love would never be given freely to him, but forced thru the supernatural, he would never know true love as it was for normal humans.

Lastly, never being able to know the light of day and it's own warmth and wonder, you have a very sad, tragic character who was tired of "un-living," if you will. I would say that makes for some major unhappiness.

Why would we kill you? The movie itself just isn't very good at all. I did like Bela as Dracula, however.

Yeah Bela was pretty cool. I think that a great deal of his appeal was his accent and his somewhat reserved European mannerisms, as well as actually being from the Austro-Hungarian part of Europe, that lent great authenticity to him too.

Sadly, no matter what else he did, even his Ed Wood stuff, he was ever truly able to break free of his typecast for Dracula. Which, is doubly sad because I liked some of the other stuff he did as well, like The Devil Bat. Bela was just as good playing a mad scientist as he was a vampire.

None of the cinematic Dracula's resemble Dracula from the book. Except perhaps Christopher Lee in Franco's COUNT DRACULA (1970).Yes-the film is dated. The first section-whith Lugosi and Renfield in the castle and on the boat-is classic. Lugosi is very otherworldly. He never answers Renfield's questions-he just says what's floating through his mind. Fitting for a creature who's only human contact is killing them. Once the film switchs to England-he becomes a meloncholy charecter-but the supernatural feel is lost.It's quite talky and...stagey. Don't blame Bela. He didn't direct the film.All said and done-I haven't seen a beter Dracula then Bela-regardless of the short comings of the film. Lee,Carradine-all good. But not convincing as a Translyvanian Count.

I've seen the film criticized on other sites for being a bit static and dull at times (although I personally never find it this way) and being an early talkie, perhaps it was a bit experimental in that regard. Lugosi though is excellent..his stare, his hand motions, his costumes, the way he reacts to the mirror are all classic touches. I've seen others say the Spanish version also from 1931 is more exciting and better paced but it really suffers without Lugosi as the Count IMO. It's definitely a Horror classic and rightly so but I do feel Nosferatu is actually a much scarier film...Lugosi though will always be awesome for this and his many other roles.

I think Edward Van Sloan was good as Van Helsing, and I loved Dwight Frye as Renfield. The only Renfields I liked better were Tom Waits.

I also think that Peter MacNicol was the funniest thing about Dracula: Dead & Loving it with his Renfield, and I credit a lot of that with his utilization of a lot of what Frye did first.

Logged

"On a mountain of skulls in a castle of pain, I sat on a throne of blood. What was will be, what is will be no more. Now is the season of evil." - Vigo (former Carpathian warlord and one-time Slayer lyric-writer)